US Forest Service Property Development

What We Do

On the northwestern edge of downtown Sisters sits a large parcel of land, owned for many years by the US Forest Service and periodically listed for sale without success. One of the key strategies under the Prosperous Sisters Focus area of the Sisters Country Vision is the development of this large tract of land, ending a long period of uncertainty about the future of this key property. The property consists of four “parcels”, each offering different opportunities.

After several years of effort, the City of Sisters, USFS and other key stakeholders met with private developers, resulting in the “Middle Parcel”(shown in green in the photo) of the property entering escrow in 2019! To further support development options for this parcel, the City of Sisters updated their Buildable Lands Inventory and Housing Needs Assessment in 2019-2020. The developers received approval to rezone the property to allow a mixture of residential, commercial, industrial, and open space uses in October 2020, and plan to come forward with more refined development plans in the following few months.

Following this pending sale, the USFS decided to replace their existing buildings with a new District Ranger Station on the “Ranger Station” parcel (shown in blue in the photo). USFS will be using the proceeds from land sales of administrative parcels and pending appropriated funds for capital improvements to replace dilapidated buildings. This decision also ensures that USFS will maintain a presence in Sisters Country well into the future! The USFS will work collaboratively with the City on site design.

The “North Parcel” (shown in red in the photo) received approval for a rezoning application in September 2020, to allow for Light Industrial uses on the property. The developers will submit refined detailed plans soon, as part of their master planning process.

The final parcel, known to many in Sisters Country as the “East Portal” (shown in orange in the photo), is slated to remain a community gathering space. The City of Sisters is working on a multi-stakeholder agreement to acquire this portion of the property. The goal is to develop an agreement between ODOT and the City of Sisters to purchase and facilitate the East Portal remaining a public use space. Plans for future facilities and uses of this site have not yet been planned. More to come as this project continues to progress!